Interim sheriff will retire this week

Acting Franklin County Sheriff Steve Martin, 63, said yesterday that he plans to retire on Thursday, the day before the new sheriff is to be sworn in.

Acting Franklin County Sheriff Steve Martin, 63, said yesterday that he plans to retire on Thursday, the day before the new sheriff is to be sworn in.

"It just fits my overall plan for retirement," he said. "You reach a point where you know you're ready to move on. But I'll stay busy, you know me."

For much of his 40 years of service in the sheriff's office, Martin worked for former Sheriff Jim Karnes, who died of pancreatic cancer this month. Karnes appointed Martin as chief deputy over investigations shortly after his election in 1992.

Martin often has been the spokesman of the sheriff's office and has worked many prominent cases. As a young detective in the 1970s, he was involved in the investigation of the ".22-caliber killers." Nearly 30 years later, he played a key role in the I-270 serial sniper case.

Martin's last day will be June 30. He did not apply to stay on as sheriff.

Democratic appointee Sgt. Zach Scott, who has been with the sheriff's office since 1985, will then take the oath of office as sheriff at his home shortly after midnight on Friday. The public ceremony will take place July 11.

Scott will serve out the remaining year and a half of Karnes' term and then would have to run for election to keep the sheriff's job.

Before the new sheriff was selected, Martin said he wasn't interested in the job. He said he wishes Scott the best of luck and that the new sheriff will have a good senior staff to help him.

Scott said they'll be staying in touch, and he plans to pick Martin's brain for guidance.

"He'll be greatly missed," Scott said. "Next to the sheriff, he's been a cornerstone of the sheriff's office for 40 years."

Martin said serving as interim sheriff truly has been "bittersweet." A friend's death is not the way one wants to become sheriff.

In retirement, Martin said, he is hoping to volunteer with the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps rehabilitate soldiers injured in Afghanistan and Iraq. Martin said he sees it as a way to give back because he was wounded in Vietnam.